Timor Sea: geography, climate and human activities

северное побережье Австралии и характеризуется преобладанием субэкваториального климата. The Timor Sea is washed by the northern coast of Australia and is characterized by a predominance of the subequatorial climate. There are several large oil and gas fields in the water area. Many scientists refer it to the list of the richest, most beautiful and interesting seas on the planet. About him and will go further in more detail.

Location on the map

, прежде всего, следует отметить, что оно располагается в Индийском океане. Speaking about where the Timor Sea is located , first of all, it should be noted that it is located in the Indian Ocean. On the map it can be found between the mainland Australia and the island of Timor, whose name, in fact, was named. In the eastern part it borders on the Arafura Sea , and in the west it gradually merges with the ocean. In the south is a large bay, known as Joseph Bonaparte. не имеют выраженной природной границы. An interesting feature is that the Arafura and Timorese seas do not have a distinct natural boundary. They have about the same temperature and the level of salinity of water. Whatever it was, these are two completely different ponds.

general description

Total area of the sea is 432 thousand square kilometers. Most of it is located on the continental Australian shelf, which explains the insignificant depth. In general, its value does not reach the mark of 200 meters. Its deepest place is located in the northern part of the Timor trough, whose depth is 3310 meters. Passing along the water area of the same name carries to the Indian Ocean the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, the water area is located in the area of the tectonic plates split. All this in a complex created optimal conditions for the emergence of a huge number of typhoons. On the covered with quartz and calcareous sands there are many atolls, coral reefs and shoals.

характеризуется извилистой береговой линией с небольшими заливами и живописными бухтами. The Timor Sea is characterized by a winding coastline with small bays and picturesque bays. As a rule, the shore is not high. In the water area there are four fairly large islands, two of which are in Australian ownership, and two more belong to Tivi. Many continental rivers flow into the sea. The largest port is the city of Darwin, which is the capital of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Mastering People

. Many scientists suggest that the Australian continent was inhabited by humans through the Timor Sea . They believe that this happened at a time when the water level was significantly lower, which led to the emergence of people from the Indonesian archipelago. Local legends say that they became the ancestors of Australian Aborigines. As for the first European settlers, they are the sailors from Holland, who after the seabed exploration opened the Australian mainland.

Climate

The monsoon subequatorial climate prevails over the water area. As noted above, there are often strong typhoons. About ten years ago, several of them even led to a temporary halt to the operation of platforms for oil refining and the evacuation of their personnel by helicopters for security reasons. One of the tropical typhoons in 1974 greatly destroyed the city of Darwin.

In the period from December to March, a season of tropical rainstorm prevails over the water area. Despite this, even in winter the water temperature never falls below the mark of 25 degrees, and in the summer it warms up to 30 degrees. The currents are seasonal in nature. In winter, they move in the west direction, and in the summer - to the east. It should be noted and the tides, which are quite high. Usually they reach a mark of 4 meters, and in small closed bays and bays - up to 9 meters.

Flora and fauna

похвастаться не может, то этого нельзя сказать о животном мире. If the rich and diverse flora of the Timor Sea can not boast, then this can not be said about the animal kingdom. In particular, there are corals, mollusks of all known classes, sea worms, jellyfish, snakes, echinoderms, lobsters, shrimps, crabs and many other fauna of the oceans. One can not help but note the diversity of fish, of which there are more than three hundred species. Among them there are several species of sharks, so you can swim in the sea only in certain places and very carefully.

Human activity

не считалось ценным для людей, с точки зрения использования природных ресурсов. Half a century ago, the Timor Sea was not considered valuable for people, in terms of the use of natural resources. And the catch of fish here was very complicated due to unfavorable meteorological conditions. The situation changed dramatically in the early seventies of the last century. Then on the shelf were found impressive oil reserves. The result of this was the emergence of many disputes regarding the order of division of territorial waters. It is advantageous for Australia to divide the sea along the border of the continental shelf. This is not the case with the East Timorese government, which adheres to the policy of its former metropolis of Portugal, whose government believed that the water area should be divided in the middle. Anyway, today there are a lot of projects concerning the development of oil and gas fields. Some of them are already under implementation.

It should be noted that human activities also have a disastrous effect on the Timor Sea from time to time. связанной с нефтью техногенной катастрофы, которая произошла в сентябре 2009 года на месторождении Монтара, является лишним тому подтверждением. Photo of the oil-related man-made disaster that occurred in September 2009 at the Montara deposit is an additional confirmation. After the accident, 400 barrels of "black gold" poured into the water daily. After the investigation, the owner of the wells was named as the culprit of the incident, who was responsible for this.